I know I'm going to sound like some old codger here but I think a part of this problem is economics. Today, it takes both mom and dad working full time and taking any overtime they can get just to provide for a reasonably comfortable middle class lifestyle. Many kids get very little in the way of parenting and their only role models are other kids.

Not saying this is the only factor but I do think economic pressure plays a big role.

I'm not even old and I agree with you here somewhat. I work as a residential property manager and I see this everyday albeit in NZ not the USA.
I do have to disagree with the both parents working in the middle class though - I find that it is more common with the lower socioeconomic groups into this scenario:
Parent[s] on the dole (govt. benefit) and instead of feeding everyone and taking care of the family, they go do their own thing and leave the family to their own. I find countless bottles of piss, 50inc LCD tvs, ps3s etc - they are just plain selfish and lack any responsibility.
What else are their kids supposed to do - who tells them right and wrong?

Going on to chomps' one, I find that with the "richer" kids, its a sense of entitlement. Their parents give them everything they want, so who is to say they cant have everything else - gross generalisation but you get the point.

Both these here are two extremes, but with the former and seeing it first hand, its sad to say but its pretty common.

One thing I have noticed in Denver is that parents simply do not give a fuck. When I go out to the grocery store or a retail store to pick something up I always run into little kids being little pieces of shit yelling and screaming and throwing stuff, and the parents just ignore it. These are not one or two isolated incidents, the majority of parents here just let their kids be little dicks all day and do nothing about it. With that kind of parenting, of course you are going to breed little assholes that grow into big assholes, and then produce little assholes of their own.

I grew up in Pittsburgh, PA and that shit would not fly. If you acted out in public you got smacked. Guess what? Kids in PA don't act out in public. That's one of the first things I noticed when I moved out here. Went from well behaved kids in PA to little assholes in CO.

Of course there is no one reason why people are disrespectful, the above points all make sense. But it is also not a new phenomenon, there have always been bad apples since the dawn of time, but there may be a more disproportionate number these days; I think a major part is discipline. Like someone mentioned people don't really discipline their kids anymore or at least not in the same way kids born in the 70's and before were disciplined. I mean really I don't see the problem with giving your kid a spank or a smack in the face if they are asking for it. I'm not pro child abuse by any means as I am a parent and I hope I never have to hit my kid, but I also believe in not giving kids what they want all the time, and if they do something serious enough I would think I'm not beyond a little physical punishment. I hope I'm not coming across as a dickhead who is looking for any reason to lay into a kid. I just think some boundaries have to be laid, and there should be some repercussions for crossing them.
But back to the lack of discipline; I believe with the divorce rate so high and parents competing for a kids affection or simply not giving a shit about their kids is the main reason behind delinquent behavior.
I don't really know anything I'm talking about just expressing opinions. But I know that I really care about how my daughter turns out and I am going to do my best to raise her right, to be a respectful and caring individual.

I am 14 and what i see around me makes me pretty sad. Kids are super disrespectful. Thankfully, i was raised by good people so the things that some kids do makes me almost i dont know the feeling im trying to get across. its almost a mix of fear and just knowing what you are doing is wrong. When i say this, im not trying to make myself look like an angel (haha i not even close to that :PP) its just what i see at school is just flat out bad.

I am 14 and what i see around me makes me pretty sad. Kids are super disrespectful. Thankfully, i was raised by good people so the things that some kids do makes me almost i dont know the feeling im trying to get across. its almost a mix of fear and just knowing what you are doing is wrong. When i say this, im not trying to make myself look like an angel (haha i not even close to that :PP) its just what i see at school is just flat out bad.

Ya man I hear you! I think some of it is fear.... I got in tons of trouble and half my friends from what part of high school I did attend are not doing so well in life. I ran with what you could say was the worst of them. Even most of them, for the most part, had respect in general. And a lot of their actions that got them where they are today were based on fear.

But I always had respect..... for my peers, my authorities, everyone.

It's weird one of the posters in this thread linked to a news article, which I read. But below that news article was a long list of comments.

Most of the comments were people were saying that the girl was treated unfairly, few were saying she got what she deserved....even more importantly that she was hopefully taught a lesson.

My grandpa always used to say the kids these days have no discipline, that he would slap the shit out of his kid (my dad) for some of the shit he saw kids doing.

I agree to a point. I think you need to treat it on a case by case basis. Not every kid will respond to more 'slaps in the face'.

It's a complex situation and it's a combination of a lot of things mentioned in this thread.

I am not sure whether or not what she got was "fair" but I do believe she got what she deserved.

"How much is your jewelry worth?"
"Like Rick Ross" *snickers*

How is this taking the situation serious? How is this being respectful? She sat and played with her hair the whole time.

I am by no means "old" but I am getting there. I am totally over people like this. As others have said, I work my ass off to not be lumped into the stereotypes of my generation (I am 28). I took a job out of town to make sure that I didn't end up working a career and living with my parents like so many in my generation do. I manage all of my own expenses and bills. I own a house. Blah blah blah The point is - I do everything I can to not be one of those people.

This may come off as being a dick myself, but it is not intended to be - For those of you who think this is BS - How old are you? I would be willing to bet that most of the people who have an issue with this are younger than 30.

I got spankings as a kid - I deserved them. I see so many people that are un-disciplined. It doesn't have to be physical harm - it mainly comes down to the fact that children do not learn that there are consequences to our actions and they are not always fair. It is also learning to deal with this. Have you ever been pulled over for speeding when the guy in front of you was going faster? Did you tell the cop that? I am sure some people will say yes. Did you get a ticket? Is it fair? The real question should be: Were you speeding? If so, getting a ticket for speeding is fair regardless of what others are doing. In this video, we say its not fair because of our perception of fairness based on the prior consequence. The judge was punishing her based on her actions. If the other post was accurate about reducing her bail - then not only was she disrespectful but she was ungrateful. Don't even get me on how ungrateful my generation and future generations are...

I got spankings as a kid - I deserved them. I see so many people that are un-disciplined.

...it mainly comes down to the fact that children do not learn that there are consequences to our actions and they are not always fair.

I think the lack of discipline and today's culture of entitlement go hand in hand.

I manage about 30 people in what I'd describe as an "entry point" government division. The jobs themselves are menial and dead-end, the pay is shit and the contracts are short-term. BUT...they give you the right to apply for internal government jobs that are not available to the general public and they have full benefits and a pension plan.

I am constantly shocked by the attitudes of a lot of the young people we hire. They won't apply for anything, they won't take free training courses, they don't do anything more than the minimum required (and most won't even do that). Yet they complain constantly about not getting promoted or getting what they "deserve". I've been told to fuck off countless times by new staff and somehow they're shocked when their contract gets terminated or they don't get extensions.

I think the lack of discipline and today's culture of entitlement go hand in hand.

I manage about 30 people in what I'd describe as an "entry point" government division. The jobs themselves are menial and dead-end, the pay is shit and the contracts are short-term. BUT...they give you the right to apply for internal government jobs that are not available to the general public and they have full benefits and a pension plan.

I am constantly shocked by the attitudes of a lot of the young people we hire. They won't apply for anything, they won't take free training courses, they don't do anything more than the minimum required (and most won't even do that). Yet they complain constantly about not getting promoted or getting what they "deserve". I've been told to fuck off countless times by new staff and somehow they're shocked when their contract gets terminated or they don't get extensions.

Nothing against you, but government jobs don't exactly attract the "best and brightest". When I was in college I had an internship in the intelligence community and was given a full offer afterwards. I turned it down without a second thought. Never in my life had I worked with such lazy people. In a typical 8 hour work day, the people I worked with may have worked 1-2 hours tops. The rest was chatting in eachothers cubes and holding pointless meetings. Drove me crazy.

This may come off as being a dick myself, but it is not intended to be - For those of you who think this is BS - How old are you? I would be willing to bet that most of the people who have an issue with this are younger than 30.

.

Just turned 30 in december. I didn't say what she did wasn't disrespectful. I said multiple times that she was out of line, but to act like that judge wasn't somewhat out of line is wrong IMO. Sorry man I just don't have respect for our judicial system or our officers. I completely fail to see why everyone bestows judges as these "god" like figures who can't be questioned. Obviously, they shouldn't be questioned or disrespected inside the courtroom, but outsiders should be allowed to call out the shitty behavior of the courtroom.

And yeah, I agree, kids suck these days. But you know what, I deal with just as many prick, asshole motherfuckers in their 40's and 50's too. Some people are just assholes and don't respect other people. To act like this is completely a generational thing is way off base.